Strike ReWrite
All of the following are preliminary, rushed rules; they are not representative of the final product. Introduction This is a rewrite of Jim McGarva's Strike!, a generic RPG with superlative grid-based tactical combat but little else stellar. This new take aims to present: *A completely revamped basic noncombat system that emphasizes resource management and downplays dice rolls. *Much more customization for player characters' combat sides. *More polished and well-balanced combat rules and encounter-building rules. *More consistent and tighter wording for combat rules. *Less impetus for the players to collectively optimize for pure damage, high initiative, and alpha striking. If you enjoy grid-based tactical combat, then you might come to like this system. If not, then perhaps another RPG will be a better fit for your preferences. If you lie somewhere in between, then feel free to give Strike! ReWrite an earnest try. Strike! ReWrite is a quasi-generic system. It works well only for high magic, high fantasy campaigns whose mundane military technology is pre-1914 at the very most. While this system can be adjusted to fit other genres, such as modern-day superheroes or martially-inclined magical girls, it will not handle such settings and their specific conventions as well as a dedicated genre-emulating RPG would. There are no plans to expand this game to cover genres other than high magic, high fantasy. Additionally, player characters created under this RPG are expected to: *Be mid-powered to high-powered. The rules are not suited for characters with more down-to-earth capacities. *Be broadly competent both in and out of combat. No character in this system can offer only a few hyperspecialized talents, nor can they ever be a noncombatant or a pure combatant. *Be gifted with a diverse array of superheroic magical powers, or devices that replicate such sorceries. Noncombat character creation gives plenty of room to purchase magical abilities, but does not support characters with only mundane skills to their name. *Seldom acquire items from external sources to improve their personal capacities. While an artificer-type character who enchants marvelous tools for themselves is well-supported, this RPG is not fit for adventures where characters regularly loot or purchase new magic items. *Possess equally as much wealth as any other player character. This game lacks mechanics for distinguishing different levels of wealth between party members, and there are no plans to write such out in the future; campaigns work out best if each party member is as wealthy as each other. *Work best as part of a team during combat. Strike! ReWrite does not have any compelling rules for duels; grid-based tactics are its combat highlight. *Emphasize horizontal advancement rather than vertical advancement. Characters here expand their abilities and flexibility rather than directly upgrade their raw power. Strike! ReWrite will be a poor fit for any campaign whose player characters do not meet the criteria above. If the envisioned player characters actually are supposed to have such qualities, then this system might just the campaign's needs. Noncombat Character Creation Characters have the following noncombat points to spend at each level: *Level 1: ? noncombat points *Level 2: ? noncombat points *Level 3: 36 noncombat points *Level 4: ? noncombat points *Level 5: ? noncombat points *Level 6: ? noncombat points *Level 7: ? noncombat points *Level 8: ? noncombat points *Level 9: ? noncombat points *Level 10: ? noncombat points Skills Skills are priced as follows: *1 point: Minor breadth. The skill is potentially usable in various situations, but there will just as often be times wherein it is simply irrelevant. *2 points: Moderate breadth. The skill can be applied to many scenarios, and can frequently be of auxiliary use even in situations that do not specifically highlight it. *3 points: Major breadth. The skill is useful in nearly any set of circumstances. Each skills come in three ratings: Minor, Moderate, and Major. All of a character's skills start at Minor. The following section concern how player characters use skills. NPCs use the same list of thirteen skills, but use them in a different fashion; this will be covered in a later section. There are four functions for skills: Clue, Push, Risk, and Surge. However, since we are not quite ready to use the full skill system just yet, the following preliminary system will be used: There are six difficulties: Automatic, Trivial, Minor, Moderate, Major, Extreme, Nearly Impossible, Actually Impossible. Minor difficulty represents something that could go either way for someone with Minor skill, Moderate difficulty could go either way for Moderate skill, and Major difficulty maps to Major skill likewise. Any given difficulty should already factor in all circumstantial factors that might lower or increase the difficulty. *Skill is 2+ steps below difficulty: Automatic failure. *Skill is 1 step below difficulty: Make a d6 roll with Disadvantage. *Skill is equal to difficulty: Make a d6 roll. *Skill is 1 step above difficulty: Make a d6 roll with Advantage *Skill is 2+ steps above difficulty: Automatic success. d6 Results: *1-2: Setback. The character achieves what they set out to achieve albeit with a major negative side effect, or the character fails at performing the task (whether due to their own mistake, the sheer difficulty of the activity, or external circumstances) and the circumstances are also shaken up on top of that (not necessarily to the character's detriment), as determined by the GM. The character cannot reattempt the same task under the same context in the same scene. *3-4: Success with a price (and maybe a choice). The character achieves what they set out to achieve albeit with a moderate negative side effect. At the GM's discretion, the character may be offered a choice between two or more prices, such they can pick their metaphorical poison. *5-6: Success. The character achieves what they set out to achieve in a beneficial and positive fashion. A character can have one assistant in an appropriate task (probably not Perception or Stealth), which must be declared before the skill or sorcery roll. A Moderately skilled assistant rolls 1d6, and on a 4-6, increases the primary character's effective skill level by one. A Majorly skilled assistant automatically increases the primary character's effective skill level by one. There are currently no rules for opposed rolls, so for now, characters are to simply make skill rolls "unopposed" against the proper difficulty. To endure or resist hostile effects outside of combat, just roll a saving throw, with Disadvantage for potent dangers and Advantage for weaker ones. Athletics Cost: 1 Moderate, 2 Major Includes the operation of vehicles. Battle Special: All player characters always have this skill at Major. Knowledge: Magic Cost: 2 Moderate, 4 Major Includes magical senses. Knowledge: Nature Cost: 2 Moderate, 4 Major Cost in Urban-Centric Campaigns: 1 Moderate, 2 Major Cost in Wilderness/Dungeon-Centric Campaigns: 3 Moderate, 6 Major All natural sciences, medicine, beast handling, wilderness navigation, wilderness survival, food-gathering, cartography, and following a trail based purely on physical spoor. Knowledge: Society Cost: 2 Moderate, 4 Major Cost in Urban-Centric Campaigns: 3 Moderate, 6 Major Cost in Wilderness/Dungeon-Centric Campaigns: 1 Moderate, 2 Major If it has to do with people, organizations, towns, cities, business, or money, this covers it. Information-gathering is also included. Perception Cost: 3 Moderate, 6 Major Does not include following a trail based purely on physical spoor. That falls under Nature. Social: Bully Cost: 1 Moderate, 2 Major Subtle intimidation, overt intimidation, and provoking. Social: Deceive Cost: 1 Moderate, 2 Major Includes disguise. Social: Empathy Cost: 1 Moderate, 2 Major Social: Persuade Cost: 1 Moderate, 2 Major Social: Rouse Cost: 1 Moderate, 2 Major Anything involving positive emotions, but not persuasion. Includes all forms of performance. Stealth Cost 1 Moderate, 2 Major Thievery Cost: 1 Moderate, 2 Major Includes all forms of security system breaching, including magical wards. Also includes the creation of small fakes, be they replacements for pickpocketing or forged documents. Requires equal investment in Perception and either Deceive or Stealth. Hobbies All characters have three Hobbies which are considered skills at Major. Hobbies can be Craft (an appropriate subcategory), Housekeeping, Mathematics, or Puzzles. If you leave a slot unfilled, you can write a hobby mid-session as needed. Sorcery The cost of sorcery is breadth multiplied by potency. Breadth: *1 point: Minor breadth. The sorcery is potentially usable in various situations, but there will just as often be times wherein it is simply irrelevant. *2 points: Moderate breadth. The sorcery can be applied to many scenarios, and can frequently be of auxiliary use even in situations that do not specifically highlight it. *3 points: Major breadth. The sorcery is useful in nearly any set of circumstances. Potency: *1 point: Minor potency. The application of the sorcery subtly nudges a scenario towards a more productive end. *2 points: Moderate potency. The sorcery's usage noticeably and appreciably confers a solid benefit to the task at hand. *3 point: Major potency. Employing the sorcery creates vast and sweeping changes that turn the tide in a situation. A d6 roll for a sorcery might be called for, using the same results table for skills above. Particularly difficult tasks might impose Disadvantage, while easier ones confer Advantage. Action Points The rules for these are unchanged from Strike! However, for those converting from Strike!, for every two skills you had earned during the campaign, your newly converted character starts the game with an Action Point. An Action Point can be spent to change a 1-2 result on a skill or sorcery roll into a 5-6 result, or to "double up" on a success and gain roughly twice the overall effect of the success. Fallbacks, Tricks, and Kits These are gone. Team Conflict These are unchanged for the most part. You must still justify the actions you take using your skills and sorceries. In addition, the following official errata to Team Conflicts applies: *1. There is always a round limit (recommended 5 rounds), and you always use the "intelligent opponents" rule. *2. Opponents trade out the Observe action for the Obscure action: +1A +1D and if the enemy uses Observe, you cancel that scouting and add +1A or +1D next round (your choice, or both if the enemy used Observe twice.) *3. Opponents cannot Take One For The Team, and also get a modified Win At All Costs: instead of giving them a Strike, it removes an Opponent’s Strike. It is only usable when the opponents have a Strike to remove. Rather than potentially gain new skills, at the end of the Team Conflict, roll a d6 for each time you used a Basic Action, and gain an Action Point for every 5-6 you roll. This does apply to NPCs, and this is the only way for NPCs to gain Action Points. Combat Character Creation Characters gain Superhuman as a bonus feat.